Whiskey Tender

A Memoir

De: Deborah Taffa

Narrado por: Charley Flyte

Finalist for the National Book Award

Longlisted for a Carnegie Medal for Excellence

Winner of the Southwest Book Award

A Best Book of the Year: Washington Post, Esquire, Time, The Atlantic, NPR, and Publishers Weekly

An Oprah Daily ""Best New Book"" and ""Riveting Nonfiction and Memoir You Need to Read"" * A New York Times ""New Book to Read"" * A Zibby Mag ""Most Anticipated Book"" * A San Francisco Chronicle ""New Book to Cozy Up With"" * The Millions ""Most Anticipated"" *An Amazon Editors ""Best Book of the Month"" * A Parade ""Best New Work By Indigenous Writers"" * An NPR ""Book We Love""

“We have more Native stories now, but we have not heard one like this. Whiskey Tender is unexpected and propulsive, indeed tender, but also bold, and beautifully told, like a drink you didn’t know you were thirsty for. This book, never anything less than mesmerizing, is full of family stories and vital Native history. It pulses and it aches, and it lifts, consistently. It threads together so much truth by the time we are done, what has been woven together equals a kind of completeness from brokenness, and a hope from knowing love and loss and love again by naming it so.” — Tommy Orange, National Bestselling Author of There There

Reminiscent of the works of Mary Karr and Terese Marie Mailhot, a memoir of family and survival, coming-of-age on and off the reservation, and of the frictions between mainstream American culture and Native inheritance; assimilation and reverence for tradition.

Deborah Jackson Taffa was raised to believe that some sacrifices were necessary to achieve a better life. Her grandparents—citizens of the Quechan Nation and Laguna Pueblo tribe—were sent to Indian boarding schools run by white missionaries, while her parents were encouraged to take part in governmental job training off the reservation. Assimilation meant relocation, but as Taffa matured into adulthood, she began to question the promise handed down by her elders and by American society: that if she gave up her culture, her land, and her traditions, she would not only be accepted, but would be able to achieve the “American Dream.”

Whiskey Tender traces how a mixed tribe native girl—born on the California Yuma reservation and raised in Navajo territory in New Mexico—comes to her own interpretation of identity, despite her parent’s desires for her to transcend the class and “Indian” status of her birth through education, and despite the Quechan tribe’s particular traditions and beliefs regarding oral and recorded histories. Taffa’s childhood memories unspool into meditations on tribal identity, the rampant criminalization of Native men, governmental assimilation policies, the Red Power movement, and the negotiation between belonging and resisting systemic oppression. Pan-Indian, as well as specific tribal histories and myths, blend with stories of a 1970s and 1980s childhood spent on and off the reservation.

Taffa offers a sharp and thought-provoking historical analysis laced with humor and heart. As she reflects on her past and present—the promise of assimilation and the many betrayals her family has suffered, both personal and historical; trauma passed down through generations—she reminds us of how the cultural narratives of her ancestors have been excluded from the central mythologies and structures of the “melting pot” of America, revealing all that is sacrificed for the promise of acceptance.

©2024 Deborah Taffa (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

Powerful & Informative

This book is a must read to understand the toll of assimilation and dubious government legislation on Native Americans. I was astounded by the treatment within the Native boarding school as well as the inter-tribunal conflict. I learned so much about the culture of many tribes as told through this poignant memoir. I'm so glad Debbie told her story. I have a quest now to learn more about America's Native citizens.

Excellent Storytelling

The author does a great job telling her story, which gave me a new perspective on her culture and what it means to be Native.

Appreciation for culture, elders

What a wonderful book! I couldn’t put it down! Even though I am not indigenous, I could relate to so many things she talked about. Wanting to feel close to her ancestors and her culture and her language of origin. Deborah wrote this book with such tenderness and love and honesty. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

A lovingly crafted story of family and history

Being the same age as Deborah Jackson and of the product of Native and White parents, this book allowed me to see myself and my life in a new, more forgiving light. I will listen/read again when I need a little extra courage to move forward.

beautiful memoir

This memoir of family, history, belonging, and resilience was so moving. The narration was well done, but the story was wonderful.

Beautiful memoir

Highly recommended. I tend not to read much nonfiction but this was a beautiful personal story that I would read again.

Superb!

Evocative memoir that portrayed the challenges faced by the author in her seeking to understand her heritage and family values in a land that left much to be desired in terms of acceptance. So much to learn from the tragedies in our past but will we listen and learn? Hope is not enough, we need to act to educate ourselves and each other and move from acceptance to celebration of our diversity as a nation.

the conversational tone

I was moved by the depth of this life story. There are so many layers to the trauma of oppression.

There is a gentleness to her. Even in her angriest moments. Just an incredible driving need to understand.

Vivid imagery and historical context

The author's vivid imagery left me feeling covered in the dust of the desert Southwest, and I loved the way she wove familial experiences with historical context to provide a full picture of her life. Well done!

Beautifully written!

This memoir was so beautifully written and performed that it read like historical fiction. Whiskey Tender is an enlightening and endearing story of America's dark expansion west and the cascading impacts on people and cultures through modern day.